ANALYSISStraus suffered a serious motorcycle accident at the end of 2017 that posed a major risk to his ability to fight professionally ever again. Making his return to the cage for the first time in over 17 months, the former Bellator Featherweight champion did not disappoint. He may or may not be at 100 percent, but he was able to drop Kruchten and take his back en route to the finish. At 34 years old, there may be time for the Ohio native to make another run.

With the UFC on a break, Richard Mann breaks down the fights and makes his picks for a pair of intriguing cards set to take place this weekend.

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Suffers vehicular accident

FeatherweightBellator

December 22, 2017

Straus was injured in a motorcycle accident last weekend, and although there has been no word on the severity of his condition, he is awake, able to speak and has full mobility of his limbs, Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com reports.

ANALYSISThe accident occurred Sunday morning, and Straus is currently recovering at a hospital in Florida. It appears as though the two-time Bellator featherweight champion does not have recollection of the incident at this time. There will likely be an update on his status within the next few weeks as he continues to work his way back from the injuries.

Drops second straight fight at Bellator 184

FeatherweightBellator

October 6, 2017

Straus lost to Sanchez via submission (triangle choke) at 1:56 of Round 3 at Bellator 184 on Friday in Thackerville, Okla.

ANALYSISStraus came out as he always does. He closed the distance and worked for the takedown. This is usually his path to victory, but against Sanchez it proved to be his undoing. Sanchez had multiple answers for Straus on the ground. In the first round, Sanchez threatened with a tight kneebar. In the second round, he swept Straus, took the mount and nearly finished with punches from the mount. In the final round, Straus scored yet another takedown. Sanchez was once again ready. He locked in an opposite side triangle choke and finished the fight. Straus will need to go back to the drawing board after this one. This was his return fight after dropping the featherweight title to Patricio Freire earlier this year. He has now lost three of his last five fights.

Gets tapped out by Pitbull to lose featherweight title

FeatherweightBellator

April 21, 2017

Straus lost to Patricio Pitbull via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:37 of Round 2 at Bellator 178 on Friday in Connecticut.

ANALYSISStraus fought tooth-and-nail to take the title from Pitbull in November of 2015, but didn't seem to have the same sense of urgency in this fight, as he spent most of Round 1 searching for a big left hand. The second frame saw the two men get involved in an early scramble, which allowed Pitbull to wrap the neck and use the cage to jump guard and close the show. This was the fourth bout between these two fighters, and while all praise goes to Pitbull for the performance, the quick finish seems like an unsatisfying end to the rivalry. Strauss falls to 24-7 in professional MMA as a result of the loss.

ANALYSISThe third time was the charm for Straus, who avenged two previous losses to Pitbull. Many people claimed that Straus wasn't worthy of a title shot, but he proved all the doubters wrong. It was a terrific, close fight, but one that Straus clearly deserved to win. The American Top Team product is now a two-time Bellator featherweight champion.

Daniel Straus: Will Challenge For Bellator Featherweight Title In November

FeatherweightBellator

August 14, 2015

Straus will challenge Patricio Pitbull for the Bellator featherweight title at Bellator 145 on November 6 in St. Louis, MMAJunkie.com reports.

ANALYSISAn argument can certainly be made that Straus doesn't deserve another title shot at this point, but it's not like Bellator has any better options. Straus has already lost to Pitbull twice before, the second of which came this past January.